Ten steps into the crazy
I just posted my thoughts about the whole Phelps thing in glbt_hindus yesterday then I came across this site, which kind of blew my mind. Now, I'm totally confused, because they make an excellent point.
Fred Phelps and his Westboro Baptist Church family just might be the most important GLBT activists since Stonewall. Why? Quite simply, because they give homophobes a bad name. Unlike stealth homophobes, the Phelps clan don't hide their repugnance under a bushel. Every time they appear on the nation's television screens, they show millions of Americans just how ugly unadulterated bigotry is.
Stealth homophobes across America have been able to hide for too long behind cuddly phrases like: "love the sinner, hate the sin," and "separate but equal," and "tolerance." GLBT Americans are tired of being "tolerated." We want to be respected and embraced as true equals, not "loved" as "sinners."
GLBT rights have come a long way over the last four decades since Stonewall. And on these last miles toward equality, it's time to root out those who walk with us and those who are simply patronizing us. The Phelps Clan and their message of hate are exactly the polarizing stimulus necessary to separate the wheat from those who chafe us.
Every American should be asked: Are you with us? Or are you with the Phelps?
There truly is no in between.
The more America gets to see of the Phelps, the more likely they are to side with the GLBT community. Or else be exposed as the hatred filled Phelps-ians they truly are.
EDIT: Check out this surreal Podcast with Shirley Phelps and Josh Kilmer Percel. Definitely worth a listen!
Fred Phelps and his Westboro Baptist Church family just might be the most important GLBT activists since Stonewall. Why? Quite simply, because they give homophobes a bad name. Unlike stealth homophobes, the Phelps clan don't hide their repugnance under a bushel. Every time they appear on the nation's television screens, they show millions of Americans just how ugly unadulterated bigotry is.
Stealth homophobes across America have been able to hide for too long behind cuddly phrases like: "love the sinner, hate the sin," and "separate but equal," and "tolerance." GLBT Americans are tired of being "tolerated." We want to be respected and embraced as true equals, not "loved" as "sinners."
GLBT rights have come a long way over the last four decades since Stonewall. And on these last miles toward equality, it's time to root out those who walk with us and those who are simply patronizing us. The Phelps Clan and their message of hate are exactly the polarizing stimulus necessary to separate the wheat from those who chafe us.
Every American should be asked: Are you with us? Or are you with the Phelps?
There truly is no in between.
The more America gets to see of the Phelps, the more likely they are to side with the GLBT community. Or else be exposed as the hatred filled Phelps-ians they truly are.
EDIT: Check out this surreal Podcast with Shirley Phelps and Josh Kilmer Percel. Definitely worth a listen!